CMK

What CMK does

CMK Chartered Accountants (legally CAPPER MACDONALD & KING LTD) is a privately held New Zealand chartered accounting firm founded around 1954 and headquartered in Stratford, Taranaki, with additional offices in New Plymouth and Hawera. The firm provides accounting, taxation, and business advisory services to small and medium-sized businesses, with a deep specialisation in agricultural clients — principally dairy and sheep farmers across the Taranaki and Manawatu regions. Its core product is recurring professional-services work covering GST, PAYE, IRD reporting, rural tax returns, trust and succession planning, business restructuring, and facilitated Planning Day workshops, supplemented by Xero cloud-accounting training and a portfolio of proprietary educational publications (Grow Your Numbers, Know Your Numbers, Passing It Forward, 7 Steps to Planning, Cashflow Guide).

The business runs on a relationship-driven, sales-led go-to-market model: a free initial meet-and-greet consultation leads into ongoing engagements where Principals and Directors are directly accessible to clients. Revenue is generated through professional service fees on compliance, advisory, and project-based engagements; no public pricing is disclosed. The firm employs approximately 19 staff — including Principals (Andrew Darke), Directors (Anna Playle), an Associate (Fiona Riddick), a Consultant (John Dazley), and Chartered Accountants — and relies on Xero as its core accounting platform and Meta Pixel for digital advertising measurement. Marketing is content-led (blogs, webinars, published guides) and reinforced by a 30+ organisation community sponsorship programme across Taranaki sports clubs, schools, and community groups.

Strategically, CMK is pursuing incremental, depth-over-breadth expansion: deepening wallet share with existing farming clients through succession planning, AI-readiness advisory, and ecosystem partnerships (notably with Finance House Group for joint webinars), while extending reach across Taranaki via additional offices and digital marketing. There are no funding rounds, acquisitions, or moves outside the Taranaki/Manawatu corridor; the firm has remained independent and closely held throughout its 70-year history, with no disclosed institutional ownership or external investment.

Name

CMK

Legal name

CAPPER MACDONALD & KING LTD

Website

https://cmk.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CMK Chartered Accountants is a privately held New Zealand accounting firm delivering compliance, taxation, and business advisory services to small and medium-sized businesses, with specialist expertise in agricultural clients across the Taranaki and Manawatu regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hawera

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Accounting Services: Ongoing accounting, taxation, and compliance services for small/medium businesses and farms. Delivered through relationship-based client engagements managed by Principals, Directors, and a team of Chartered Accountants. Revenue is generated through professional service fees, likely project-based and/or recurring retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CMK is a chartered accounting firm providing accounting, taxation, and business development support to small and medium-sized businesses across New Zealand. The firm has specialist expertise in agricultural accounting and farm succession planning for the Taranaki and Manawatu regions, delivering services such as GST/PAYE/IRD compliance, tax returns, Xero training, strategic planning workshops, and published financial literacy resources. Services are delivered through three physical offices in Stratford, New Plymouth, and Hawera, supported by remote advisory via phone and email.

Product overview

CMK offers a unified accounting and business advisory service portfolio centered on their core Accounting Services for small and medium businesses. They provide specialized Agri Services for farmers including Farm Accounting, Farm Succession Planning, Agri Business Consulting, Planning Day, Know Your Numbers – Viability, and Xero Training. Business Services include Succession Planning, The Growth Guide, and Planning Day. CMK also publishes educational resources including 'Passing It Forward' for farm succession, 'Grow Your Numbers' for financial literacy, 'Know Your Numbers' for business understanding, plus the 'Cashflow Guide' and '7 Steps to Planning' resources. The firm operates exclusively through New Zealand with no SaaS product or digital platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Accounting Services Core accounting services for small and medium-sized businesses including GST, PAYE, IRD reporting, and tax returns, delivered as ongoing relationship-based engagements managed by Principals, Directors, and a team of Chartered Accountants.
• Farm Accounting Services Agricultural-specific accounting expertise with specialist support for GST, PAYE, IRD reporting, and rural tax returns for dairy, sheep, and broader agri-business operators in Taranaki and Manawatu.
• Farm Succession Planning Practical support for family farm transitions, ensuring a smooth handover to the next generation with tailored rural succession planning for farming families.
• Agri Business Consulting Tailored farm advisory services providing financial advice and growth strategies to help farms thrive and make confident decisions.
• Planning Day A facilitated in-person session where clients take time out to work on their business, establishing clear strategies and actions to achieve their goals through independent outside facilitation.
• Know Your Numbers – Viability Guidance to help farmers understand their farm's sustainability and master their numbers to run their business effectively, supporting cash flow improvement, profit maximisation, and asset protection.
• Xero Training Training services to help clients get the most out of their Xero accounting package, understanding what they need to move forward with billing, expense claims, and accounting processes.
• Business Advisory Services Business services for small and medium sized businesses at all stages including starting out, growing, investing, selling, or establishing a succession plan, supported by The Growth Guide for financial statement interpretation.
• Passing It Forward (Published Guide) A published guide explaining why succession planning is important for New Zealand agriculture and serving as a practical planning tool for farm succession.
• Grow Your Numbers (Published Guide) A Finance 101 guide helping farmers understand the numbers in their business and create greater efficiencies to maximise returns.
• Know Your Numbers (Published Guide) A publication that strips away financial buzzwords to help readers understand how to make numbers work for them, creating efficiencies, profits, and security for their business.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70 years of continuous operation providing accounting and business development support
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

31 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Taranaki Club RugbyminorOthersCMK is a proud sponsor of Taranaki Club Rugby as part of its community sponsorship programme spanning sports clubs, schools, and community organisations across Taranaki.
• Dairy Women's NetworkminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of the Dairy Women's Network, aligning their agricultural accounting expertise with a key farming community organisation in New Zealand.
• Stratford Eltham Junior RugbyminorOthersCMK sponsors Stratford Eltham Junior Rugby as part of its broad community sponsorship programme in Taranaki.
• Te Ngutu Golf ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Te Ngutu Golf Club.
• Stratford StormersminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Stratford Stormers sports club.
• New Plymouth Old Boys Hockey ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of New Plymouth Old Boys Hockey Club.
• Kaitake Community Sports HubminorOthersCMK sponsors the Kaitake Community Sports Hub.
• Surfing for FarmersminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Surfing for Farmers, a wellness initiative for the farming community.
• Central Rugby and Sports ClubminorOthersCMK sponsors Central Rugby and Sports Club.
• Spencer Rowson – SurfingminorOthersCMK sponsors individual athlete Spencer Rowson (surfer).
• New Plymouth Boys High SchoolminorOthersCMK sponsors New Plymouth Boys High School.
• Taranaki Hockey FederationminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Taranaki Hockey Federation.
• Cockies TournamentminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Cockies Tournament.
• Kaitake Soccer ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Kaitake Soccer Club.
• Flyers Swim SquadminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Flyers Swim Squad.
• Wellbeing ConferenceminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of the Wellbeing Conference.
• Stratford Golf ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Stratford Golf Club.
• Toko SchoolminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Toko School.
• Kaitake Rugby ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Kaitake Rugby Club.
• NPOB Surf Life SavingminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of NPOB (New Plymouth Old Boys) Surf Life Saving club.
• Stratford High SchoolminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Stratford High School.
• New Zealand Speed Golf TeamminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of the New Zealand Speed Golf Team.
• Midhirst Cricket ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Midhirst Cricket Club.
• Taranaki Rugby Football UnionminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Taranaki Rugby Football Union.
• Stratford Cricket ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Stratford Cricket Club.
• Kaitake Golf ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Kaitake Golf Club.
• Oakura Boardriders ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Oakura Boardriders Club.
• Stratford Primary School – Breakfast ClubminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Stratford Primary School Breakfast Club.
• Taranaki Sports Awards – Club of the YearminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of the Taranaki Sports Awards – Club of the Year category.
• Team HopeminorOthersCMK is a sponsor of Team Hope.
• Finance House Group (FHG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCMK co-hosts webinars with Finance House Group (FHG) on topics relevant to farming families, such as ACC and insurance protection. FHG provides insurance expertise while CMK provides accounting and financial planning perspective. The partnership is ongoing with joint educational events.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Taranaki: A regional New Zealand chartered accountancy firm with strong Taranaki and rural/agri presence. Directly comparable to CMK in scope (SMB and farmer clients, multi-office Taranaki footprint), fee model, and service mix.
• Findex New Zealand: Large NZ-focused CA and advisory network with deep rural and agribusiness practice. Comparable to CMK as a NZ chartered accountancy firm serving farmers and SMBs, but with national scale.
• RSM New Zealand: Mid-tier NZ chartered accountancy network serving SMBs and agribusiness clients across multiple regional offices. Comparable to CMK in firm size tier, client mix (SMBs and farmers), and service portfolio.
• Markhams New Zealand: NZ regional chartered accountancy group with presence across multiple provincial centers. Comparable to CMK as a multi-office NZ CA firm serving SMBs and rural clients with similar advisory and compliance offerings.

Broad incumbents

• BDO New Zealand: Top-tier NZ accounting and advisory firm with a dedicated agribusiness sector group. Overlaps with CMK's farmer/SMB accounting and advisory services but operates nationally with broader capabilities.
• KPMG New Zealand: Big-4 NZ firm with agri-food and rural practice serving farming and primary sector clients. Overlaps with CMK on agribusiness accounting and succession advisory but at much greater scale and breadth.
• Deloitte New Zealand: Big-4 NZ firm offering accounting, tax, and advisory services to agribusiness and SMB clients. Comparable to CMK's service categories but with a national and international footprint and a much broader service portfolio.
• PwC New Zealand: Big-4 NZ firm with rural and primary sector advisory capabilities. Comparable to CMK on accounting, tax, and succession planning for agribusiness clients but at significantly larger scale.
• EY New Zealand: Big-4 NZ firm providing accounting, tax, and advisory services including agribusiness support. Comparable to CMK on core chartered accountancy offerings, but operating nationally with enterprise-grade clients.

Emerging players

• Figured: NZ-origin cloud farm financial management software used by farmers and their accountants for budgeting, forecasting, and livestock tracking. Comparable to CMK in that it targets the same farming clients in Taranaki/NZ and increasingly competes with traditional accounting firms on the financial-management layer CMK provides.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cmkaccountants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CMK